WASHINGTON, October 15. /TASS/. Ukraine, the US, and the EU must accept that Kiev will be forced to make painful concessions to resolve the crisis, and dragging out the conflict only worsens its position, said Jennifer Kavanagh, an expert of the Washington-based think tank Defense Priorities.
According to her, the current "half-hearted attempts" by the United States to de-escalate the Ukrainian crisis "come too late and are likely to fail. There is, however, something that Ukraine’s partners can do to help: start planning now for a serious push to end the war in 2027. To be successful, a future diplomatic campaign would have to look very different than past attempts to broker peace," Kavanaugh wrote in an opinion piece published on the website of the American magazine The American Conservative.
She said that the US, the EU, and Ukraine should come to terms with the fact that "more time will not fundamentally improve, and likely worsen, Ukraine’s negotiating position; and any peace will require painful and unpopular concessions by Kiev." Kavanagh said that "Russia has significant advantages and the opportunity to press them over the coming months."
Earlier, The Washington Post citing sources reported that Washington and Brussels are working on a joint peace proposal that would provide Russia and Ukraine with benefits in the areas of finance and security, and would also create a basis for resolving territorial disputes. It was noted that the draft agreement would consist of four points and would include Russia’s proposal to sign security and economics agreements with Europe to form the basis for stability in the region. According to the WP, the diplomatic impetus for developing a new settlement plan was provided at a meeting in Florida with the participation of American, European, and Ukrainian negotiators.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow has not received any official proposals on "a peace plan" for Ukraine.
